


Just Visiting

by StainlessSteelShipping (kistytac)



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions, Pocket Monsters: Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon | Pokemon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon Versions
Genre: Bringing Food, F/M, POV Third Person, Pokemon-themed Poetry, Prelationship Fluff, Romancing through Poetry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-07-01 06:53:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15768870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kistytac/pseuds/StainlessSteelShipping
Summary: Molayne's poetry hobby is a secret, sure, but recently a certain young woman has been inspiring him.





	Just Visiting

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry, I had to, that poem you find in Ultra Sun/Moon is too cute and it's fueled a thousand headcanons headcanons for me lmfao Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

_Striking me with a 10,000,000 volt thunderbolt_  
_My love for you sets my clangerous soul ablaze!_  
_You pull my heart toward yours like a black hole’s eclipse_  
_…_

Molayne tapped the end of his pencil on the margin of the notebook he was writing in. He was trying to think of a romantic way to work in the name of the Steel-type Z-move, but the process was proving difficult. How could “corkscrew crash” sound anything other than violent? In fact, the more he read over the lines he had already put down, he realized how much more threatening than sweet they sounded.

With a heavy sigh, he tore the page out of his notebook and crumpled it into a ball, tossing it casually at the bin next to his desk. It bounced off of a pile of previously discarded paper balls, landing on the floor with a whispering crinkle and rolling over by the couch he kept in his office in case he ever needed to steal a nap in the middle of a shift.

Not many people knew about Molayne’s secret poetry hobby. Sophocles knew, of course, as Molayne had written his cousin plenty of fun little stories to read to him when he was younger. Kukui knew too, though artistic expression wasn’t exactly his biggest interest, so it wasn’t something they really talked about much. As a result, Molayne had fallen out of practice in the last couple of years, only occasionally jotting down a couplet here or a stanza there among his notes.

But recently, a light of inspiration had come into his life, and now the urge to put his feelings down on paper burned like an inferno on overdrive.

Ooh, that was good.

Just as he began to write down the line in his head, the door to his office opened.

“Molayne?” Celina peeked into the room, not fully entering without invitation. She visited him often these days, usually a couple of times a week, and Molayne didn’t quite know what to make of it. She always seemed to have some kind of excuse, either to do with running some kind of errand for Nanu, or just because she wanted to visit the café at the pokémon center on top of Hokulani specifically, and a couple of times had even said that she’d simply fallen asleep on the bus and didn’t wake up until reaching the end of the line at the top of the mountain. And every time, she would hang out for at least an hour or more, always finding some excuse to stick around for just a few more minutes.

Molayne knew better than to be too hopeful. She had reason to be at the observatory after all, seeing as he had recently agreed to use the observatory’s resources to help Nanu investigate Ultra Wormholes for her sake, after she had fallen through one. But she never so much as brought the subject up whenever she was visiting, so that was clearly not the reason.

He knew what he _wanted_ the reason to be. But he wasn’t exactly popular among women, at least the ones he found himself attracted to, who he noticed tended to go for stronger, more charismatic men like Kukui over him. He couldn’t think of why Celina would be any different. Still, there had to be some reason she kept coming around, and if it wasn’t business, then maybe…

“I was wondering if you had some time… I brought you dinner!” She interrupted his thoughts with a cheerful chirp while holding up a plastic bag. Molayne felt his heart skip a beat.

“Ah! O-okay!” He shut his notebook a little too aggressively, drawing Celina’s attention to it. He noticed her eyes land briefly on the wastebin overflowing with his crumpled up attempts at romance. With a subtle clearing of his throat, he pulled himself out of his chair and walked over to her, ushering her out of his office.

In truth, he had eaten dinner before he left for work, and it was still far too early to take his break just yet, but he could never miss a chance to spend time with her. As they walked down the hallway toward the cafeteria, she chattered on about the Meowths at Nanu’s, and how this time of night they all seemed to get antsy at once. It apparently made her antsy as well, which was why she had decided to drop by for a visit.

“Is that why you keep coming around?” Molayne teased, laughing lightly. Immediately, Celina reached up to play with a lock of her hair, twisting it around her index finger as a light blush began to spread across her cheeks.

Molayne had to remind himself to breathe again.

“Well, you are better company than a bunch of rowdy cats,” She laughed, though she did not stop playing with her hair.

They had reached the cafeteria, and sat across from each other at a small table along the wall. Celina put the plastic bag on the counter and opened it, handing Molayne a container and keeping another one for herself.

Molayne was surprised to see that she had made a couple of simple bento meals for each of them. The food steamed when he took the lid off, and the smell made his mouth water. He was happy she had only made chicken and rice with a side of carrots, nothing too heavy. He didn’t think he could have brought himself to turn down a gift from like this, not from her. Especially with the way that she watched him as he ate, clearly worried about what he thought of her cooking.

“This is delicious!” he found himself exclaiming after a couple of bites, and could see the relief overtake her face as she let her muscles relax, and finally allowed herself to dig into her own meal. He couldn’t help but notice that she didn’t have any vegetables in her own bento, just chicken and rice, with dark teriyaki sauce drizzled over everything. Still, she looked very happy as she ate, and savored every bite.

“Hey,” Molayne spoke up after watching her for a few moments, interrupting her just as she was about to pop some rice into her mouth, “before you keep going, try one of these.”

He held out a carrot to her, and she wrinkled her nose. He couldn’t hold back a short bark of laughter at her cute expression.

“I don’t like vegetables,” She said, sticking out her tongue like a child. Molayne only laughed harder, and she narrowed her eyes up at him.

“You’re just like Soffy,” he teased, “he hates vegetables too. But at least he’ll eat them with enough incentive.”

“Usually I’ll eat them if they’re covered in dressing,” She admitted, as if trying to justify her pickiness, “but I didn’t think it would go too well with teriyaki.”

“I suppose you have a point,” Molayne said with a smile, though he still held the carrot out to her, “but you still need to eat your vegetables.”

Celina pouted, glaring at the carrot for a few moments before reluctantly opening her mouth.

“Feed me then,” She said, closing her eyes, “Aaaaahhh.”

Molayne was glad her eyes were closed because he knew she would have been able to see how nervous he suddenly felt as he almost dropped the carrot in his fingers. He caught himself though, and, with a shaking hand, reached out to put the tip of the carrot in her mouth. She bit down as soon as she felt it, and her lips grazed the tips of Molayne’s fingers, causing him to jerk his hand back with lightning quickness. His heart was pounding at the unexpected and surprisingly intimate touch, and his fingers tingled with the memory of it.

Celina kept her eyes closed, resting her chin on her hand as she chewed, then stuck her tongue out again immediately after she swallowed.

“Bleugh,” she said, then continued eating her bento as she had been. Molayne couldn’t think of anything to say, certain that her expression of disgust had been more at the taste of the carrot than their accidental contact, but that still didn’t stop him from worrying.

The two of them were quiet for a little while as they ate, and Molayne tried to calm himself down. He couldn’t stop thinking about the feeling of her lips brushing against his skin, how soft they had been, and how they might feel against his own…

“E-excuse me,” Molayne pushed himself out of his chair, feeling his face heating up to the point where his glasses had begun to fog up, “I-I’m just gonna go to the bathroom really quick.”

Celina seemed a little confused as she watched him hurry away, but Molayne didn’t trust himself to look back at her. He knew that if he did, she might see how close he was to coming undone right now, and then these little visits would probably stop altogether…

Once in front of the bathroom sink, he splashed some water on his face in an attempt to cool himself off a bit. He stood in front of the mirror for a few long moments, trying to steady his nerves by controlling his breathing.

“C-come on Big Mo,” he whispered to his reflection, “It’s just dinner. That she… made for you. A-at home. I-it doesn’t have to mean…”

He trailed off, then shook his head. He knew what he wanted it to mean. And he knew what these gestures usually meant, and it was absolutely along those lines. Still, he didn’t want to let his heart get the better of him, and so he did his best to swallow his hopeful feelings and compose himself in the mirror.

Only when he was absolutely sure that nothing about his outward appearance betrayed the way his heart was still pounding, did he finally leave the bathroom.

He immediately noticed that Celina was no longer alone. Another scientist, a man Molayne knew was currently on the day shifts and had already clocked out, was sitting in the seat he had left vacant, speaking enthusiastically to the young woman across from him. Furrowing his brow, Molayne began to make his way over to the table when something stopped him in his tracks.

Celina was holding a deep red rose in front of her face, sniffing at the scent of it with a demure smile as she listened to the other man go on, nodding occasionally to show that she was listening. Molayne’s carefully crafted façade began to crumble as he feared the worst. Was this why she kept coming around the observatory so much? This man certainly seemed comfortable as he spoke to her so enthusiastically, in a way Molayne never trusted himself to be around her. How much of a relationship did they have?

Molayne’s thoughts were interrupted by Celina waving at him. Her demure smile had broken into a full grin, and something else in her suddenly enthusiastic expression also looked… relieved?

When the other man saw her reaction, he turned around to see what she was waving at, and Molayne noticed the color drain from his face the moment he saw his boss. Quickly, he turned back to Celina and began to speak quickly again, and Molayne caught only a part of it as he approached the table.

“Anyway, it was really great getting the chance to finally talk to you, and I hope we see each other again soon!” His smile was big, bright, and false as hell as he pulled himself out of the chair and turned to Molayne, “Oh! Hello there Mr. Director!”

“I thought you’d clocked out hours ago,” Molayne said simply, but despite his best efforts, he couldn’t hide the icy edge to his words, and, judging by the sudden falter in his smile, the other man certainly heard it.

“Hehe! Y-yeah I was just heading home now. I, erm, forgot my phone in here and had to come back for it, you know!” He made up the obvious lie so quickly, Molayne almost could have believed it, but everyone knew that any lost item like that would have been chucked into the lost and found immediately.

“Well, I hope you found it,” Molayne said, crossing his arms. The other man nodded so quickly, Molayne half-expected him to look like a busted Mimikyu when he was finished.

“Y-yep! Anyway, see you tomorrow, boss!” And with a quick wave, the scientist scurried out of the cafeteria like there was fire on his heels.

“What was that about?” Molayne asked Celina as he re-took his seat, noticing how uncomfortably warm it was from the previous occupant. He picked up his bento (which had been unceremoniously shoved to the side) and slowly began to eat again. Meanwhile, Celina finally set the flower down on the table in front of her.

“He asked me out,” She sighed, and Molayne almost choked on his bite of food.

“W-what?!” he exclaimed, coughing. So that had been the nature of his conversation with her after all.

“I know, right?” Her tone matched his in exasperated disbelief, “I’d literally never spoken to him before, but as soon as you went to the bathroom, he came up to me, handed me this flower, and then asked if I ever wanted to see Malie Garden with him some time. It was… pretty awkward.”

Molayne’s heart could have sprouted wings and flown around the room, he was so relieved. She was clearly disinterested in the other man, and unimpressed with his advances.

“Still,” she continued, interrupting Molayne’s relief, “I… almost said yes. I think it was the flower.”

She had picked up the rose again, and was twirling it in her fingers, her eyes staring at it unfocused.

“I think I just have a weakness for romantic gestures,” She sighed lightly, and a soft, somewhat mournful smile settled on her face. Molayne didn’t know what to make of it, but when she glanced up at him to meet his eyes for just the briefest moment, he felt his heart almost jump out of his chest.

She looked away quickly as well, the same light blush from earlier spreading across her cheeks, and stealing Molayne’s breath once again.

She changed the subject quickly after that, launching into story after story about some of the antics of Nanu’s Meowths, and even a few involving his Persian. She seemed to relax more and more as she spoke, and soon the incident from earlier was clearly out of her mind entirely.

They lingered in the cafeteria for a while even after they’d both finished eating, chatting about the Meowths, about Sophocles and his trial, about trial-goers, and trainers, and pokémon. Molayne would have gladly stayed there with her all night, just talking about every random topic that came up, but eventually she reminded him that she had to get back to Nanu’s before it got too late and the buses stopped running. Molayne reluctantly had to agree, and so he saw her out to the bus stop.

He waited with her until the bus came, the last one of the night, and as it pulled up, she turned to him.

“See you next time?” She said, smiling sweetly up at him. Molayne swallowed thickly as he nodded.

“O-of course,” He said, but he barely got the words out before she threw her arms around his shoulders, hugging him tightly. He froze under her, shocked at the unexpected contact, but managed to hug her back with only slightly shaking arms.

She pulled away all too soon, however, and got onto the bus with a wave and a smile, holding the rose from earlier down at her side like an afterthought.

After the bus disappeared down the mountainside, Molayne finally went back to his office. However, instead of calculations and work, words were the only thing he was able to write down for the rest of the night.

 

* * *

 

“ _Even with maximum defense_  
_I am weak to your attacks on my heart_  
_Just hearing you speak sets me at ease_  
_In a way not even a Jigglypuff’s song can match_  
_I am as defenseless as a Caterpie under your Sparkling Aria_

_Your presence is worth more than a Pay Day_  
_And your lips hold the Sweetest Kiss_  
_Despite my weakness_  
_I want to be your target_  
_But it is my turn to attack now_

_So I can only hope that your defenses are weak as my own_  
_As I give it my all in my own special Z-move_  
_And so I send my heart to you on Steel Wings_  
_Praying that I will have the advantage this time_ ”

Molayne was shaking slightly as he finished reading the poem aloud, his heart beating with a nervousness he hadn’t felt in months. Celina was curled up against his side, the sheets pulled over her body, covering it modestly despite their previous activities.

Molayne wasn’t sure what had compelled him to suddenly find the poem to read to her. He had never read her anything before now, and he had written this so long ago, after an evening where she had brought him a homemade dinner despite the fact that they had only known each other for a relatively short time yet, let alone begun dating. An evening when someone tried to ask her out long before he would ever work up the nerve himself, only to get shot down, because she was waiting for him. An evening where Molayne had gotten almost no work done, because he’d been inspired to write like never before.

And now, they were living together. Those early days of doubt and fear and nervousness seemed like a distant dream to him. Back then, just the feeling of her lips brushing against his fingertips seemed like the closest he could have gotten to Heaven itself, and now…

“That was beautiful, Mo…” She said, her voice soft and sleepy. It had become Molayne’s favorite sound in the world, especially when she sighed his nickname like that.

“T-thank you…” He said, feeling himself blushing, “I wrote it for you, um, a w-while back. B-before we started dating, obviously, and-”

He was cut off by the feeling of her lips pressing gently against his bare shoulder. He looked down at her, in time to see her lazily begin to nuzzle at him.

“You wrote me a poem and you never told me after all this time?” She was trying to sound teasing, but was clearly too tired to put too much emphasis behind it. Molayne couldn’t hold back a bit of a chuckle.

“I wrote more than just this one, my darling,” He whispered, and she looked up at him, her eyes narrowed accusingly. He just laughed again, then leaned over to kiss the top of her head.

“I’ll read you some more tomorrow if you want,” he promised her. Despite everything, his secret hobby was not something that had ever really come up, let alone the fact that he had written probably over a hundred poems about her since that evening.

“I’d like that,” She said, looking up to meet his eyes with a soft smile before finally letting her eyelids fall closed. Molayne smiled as he wrapped his arms around her. Inspiration to write was hitting him again, but now was not the time. Instead, he closed his own eyes, buried his nose in her hair, and let himself succumb to sleep as well.


End file.
